Astronomy. (on the surface of the moon) a circular or almost circular area having a depressed floor, almost always containing a central mountain and usually completely enclosed by walls that are often higher than those of a walled plain; ring formation; ring.

crater

the bowl-shaped opening at the top or side of a volcano or top of a geyser through which lava and gases are emitted

2.

a similarly shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or exploding bomb

3.

any of the circular or polygonal walled formations covering the surface of the moon and some other planets, formed probably either by volcanic action or by the impact of meteorites. They can have a diameter of up to 240 kilometres (150 miles) and a depth of 8900 metres (29 000 feet)

4.

a pit in an otherwise smooth surface

5.

a large open bowl with two handles, used for mixing wines, esp in ancient Greece

verb

6.

to make or form craters in (a surface, such as the ground)

7.

(slang) to fail; collapse; crash

Derived Forms

cratered, adjectivecraterless, adjectivecrater-like, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Latin: mixing bowl, crater, from Greek kratēr, from kerannunai to mix

Crater

/ˈkreɪtə/

noun (Latin genitive) Crateris (ˈkreɪtərɪs)

1.

a small faint constellation in the S hemisphere lying between Virgo and Hydra

1610s, from Latin crater, from Greek krater "bowl for mixing wine with water," from kera- "to mix," from PIE root *kere- "to mix, confuse; cook" (see rare (adj.2)). Used in Latin for bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano. Applied to features of the Moon since 1860. As a verb, from 1830 in poetry, 1872 in science. Related: Cratered; cratering.

A bowl-shaped depression at the top of a volcano or at the mouth of a geyser. Volcanic craters can form because of magma explosions in which a large amount of lava is thrown out from a volcano, leaving a hole, or because the roof of rock over an underground magma pool collapses after the magma has flowed away.

A shallow, bowl-shaped depression in a surface, formed by an explosion or by the impact of a body, such as a meteorite.